Let It Be Me
by TarynLewis
Summary: Everyone makes choices in life. These choices always lead to consequences. Whether they are good or bad consequences, well, that's all at what angle you are looking at them from.
1. At This Point In My Life

**At This Point In My Life**

Brooke rolled her neck and rubbed it as she sat down her pencil. Exhausted didn't seem to be exaggerated enough as to how she felt the past few weeks. She was completely swamped coming up with sketches for her children's line that she proposed to the board last month, and her deadline was creeping up increasingly fast.

She sighed and closed her sketch book as she looked at the clock on the wall. It was nearing 6 o'clock. "Shit," she mumbled as she began to collect her purse and keys, "Tutormom is going to kill me if I miss dinner." She locked up the shop and hopped into her new Lexus before speeding off to what she referred to as 'Naley's Mansion'. Sure, she was Brooke Davis, and if she wanted a house that big she could have it with a snap of her fingers. But, she **was** Brooke Davis, and over the years she had learned it wasn't about having a big house, just the family inside it that mattered, which is why she was more than happy in her three bedroom beachside home.

"Honey, I'm home," she joked as she didn't bother to knock.

"What are doing?" Nathan rounded the corner with feigned concern, "My wife will kill you! I told you we were a secret!"

Brooke smiled and jutted her hip to the side. "Oh yeah? Well who's going to tell her?" she replied with a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

"You two are too much sometimes," Haley laughed from her spot at the kitchen island, overhearing their playful banter.

Brooke patted Nathan's chest as she passed him to join her bestfriend. "My, my Tutormom, what ever are we having for dinner?"

Haley looked up with a smirk from dicing the tomatoes. "Spaghetti as a matter of fact. How would you survive without me Tigger?"

"Hey," Brooke held up her hands in fake defense, "not everyone knows how to cook a meal that doesn't have instructions on the box, and even _I_ can screw that up from time to time!" She let herself in the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water before sitting down on the other side of the island.

Haley laughed and gave Nathan a peck on the lips as he passed by. "Even motherhood can't change some habits."

"Damn right," Brooke boasted her chest out as if to be proud. "Speaking of motherhood, where are the rugrats?"

Nathan slid open the sliding glass doors and nodded his head towards the pool. "They've been playing basketball for the past hour. BOYS! DINNER IS ALMOST READY! COME IN AND GET WASHED UP!"

"Aw man!" Brooke heard her godson complain. She smiled when she saw the two boys enter the kitchen all sweaty.

"Momma!" the boy with unruly dark locks exclaimed before bouncing towards her.

"Hi baby." Brooke cooed trying to flatten some of the curls down. "Did you have a good time with Jamie today?"

"Yeah! We went swimming and played basketball and Uncle Nate gave us ice cream!" his blue eyes widened with excitement.

"Oh he did, did he?" Brooke looked at Nathan accusingly.

"You weren't supposed to tell." Jamie tried his best to whisper as he nudged his cousin in the ribs with his elbow.

"_Well_," Brooke sighed, "I guess it's okay as long as your butt goes to bed on time." She tickled her son gently sending him into a fit of giggles.

"Dinner is **done**!" Haley wiped her hands on the kitchen rag. "Asher and Jamie, run upstairs and wash those hands!"

"Yes ma'am!" they replied in unison and started to race each other up the stairs.

The three adults laughed as they began to set the table.

"Thank you guys," Brooke said as she set the 5 plates on their placemats. "You two have helped me so much lately with watching him on the weekends. The deadline is Thursday so next weekend you can have some much needed adult time."

"Davis, you know how much we love Asher," Nathan shook his head. "We definitely don't mind having him over. He keeps Jamie busy and they're like bestfriends. But it is totally your turn next weekend!"

"Deal!" Brooke clapped her hands. She hadn't had much time with her son and godson as of lately and was very much looking forward to some time with them.

"I for one can't wait for you to have a little free time," Haley chimed in as she sat the large bowl of spaghetti in the middle of the table. "We haven't had girl time in a while."

"Oh Hales I know," Brooke said apologetically. "I promise as soon as I'm done starting this new line I am all yours! Pedicures and shopping galore!"

"Oh yay," Nathan rolled his eyes uninterested. "Where are all the males when I need them?"

"Right here daddy!" Jamie laughed as the two 5 year olds came bounding down the stairs.

"What did I tell you about leaving me alone with girls?" Nathan ruffled his son's spiky blond hair.

"To never ever do it!" Asher giggled hysterically as he was lifted over his uncle's shoulder.

"Alright, alright," Haley chuckled. "Can we all sit down and eat now?"

"Aye Aye Captain!" Nathan saluted as the boys copied his actions.

Brooke and Haley's eyes sparkled with amusement at each other as they sat down to eat.

..

"Alright mister! Teeth brushed?" Brooke asked her son.

"Check!" he replied.

"Your clothes in the hamper?"

"Check!"

"Toys put away?"

"Check!"

"Well then looks like you're all ready for bed!"

"Can you read me a story?" Asher asked putting his baby blues into full on puppy dog mode as he climbed into his transformers decorated bedding.

"A _story_?" Brooke pretended to whine. "Well, okay. What book do you want me to read tonight?"

"Goodnight moon!"

"Again? Oh alright." She went and slid his favorite book off of the bookshelf and Asher slid over to make room for her in the twin bed.

Brooke propped a pillow up on the headboard and slid her heels off before making herself comfortable and letting Asher lay his head on her chest.

"In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon, and there were three little bears sitting on chairs, and two little kittens and a pair of mittens, and a little toyhouse and a young mouse, and a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush, and a quiet old lady who was whispering 'hush'. Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon…"

She went to turn the next page and looked down to see Asher passed out cold. She closed the book and took a moment to stare at him in such a peaceful state. Her hand softly swept some curls off his forehead.

This was definitely not the life she expected 6 years ago. But looking down at this brown haired, blue eyed little boy with dimples to match her own, she wouldn't want it any other way. Things never went as planned, but she had a feeling this is exactly where she was supposed to end up. "Goodnight baby boy," she whispered before kissing the top of his curls and gently sliding out from underneath him. She pulled the comforter up over his body and took one last look at him before turning off the light and leaving the door cracked enough to let some hallway light shine in.

More than anything she wanted to get some shut eye herself, but she knew the sketches weren't going to draw themselves. She started a pot of coffee and turned on the tv to give her some white noise while she worked.

As soon as she made herself comfortable on the couch, her cell started to vibrate on the coffee table. She reached for it and the screen informed her that BROODY was calling. She smiled and hit answer. "Why hello there, what are you doing up? Isn't it like almost 11 there?"

She heard him chuckle and could imagine his face. "Yeah, just up writing. How are you and Asher?"

"Just got him asleep and about to work on my sketches," Brooke replied grabbing her cup of coffee from the end table beside her.

"You work too much."

"Yeah, well, a company can't run itself," she answered mindly drawing.

"There's actually a reason I'm calling…"

"Oh? And here I just thought you wanted to talk to me," Brooke playfully pouted.

He chuckled again. "Well, I've got some big news."

"Shoot!"

"I asked Lindsey to marry me."

"Wow, congrats Broody! About time! It's been like what 2 years now? She did say yes, right?"

"Yes she said yes!" he faked insulted. "But there's more. We both want to move to Tree Hill. It's home for me, y'know? And Linds really wants to see where I grew up and meet the people she's read so much about in my books."

"Well that's great news!" Brooke sat down her pencil and smiled.

"Yeah… except I haven't told her about Asher…"

"What? Luke, you asked her to marry you, you don't think she deserves to know you have a son?"

"It's just… it's complicated. Lindsey can't have children and if she knows I donated my sperm to my ex girlfriend so she could have a baby I feel like it's going to be horrible. I don't know how to tell her. I feel like it's going to break her heart."

Brooke sighed and rolled a few thoughts in her head around. "Listen Luke, you have to be honest. You can't move here without telling her. Just lay it all out on the table. There is nothing between us. I wanted a baby so bad and you were an amazing person to give me that. It was a very selfless act and says a lot about how good of a man you are to do that. You have to make sure she knows that I am not a threat and that you aren't raising him as your son. That nothing will change between the two of you. Reassure her. Asher was a gift to me and there is no baby mama drama strings in this situation."

"Thank you so much Brooke, you always have the best words."

"Says the author," she giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, thank you. I'm going to talk to her tomorrow."

"Good," Brooke resumed drawing. "Let me know how it goes and keep me updated."

"Will do Cheery!"

"Goodnight Broody."

"'Night Davis."

Brooke hit end and tossed her phone on the couch cushion beside her. Lucas Scott back in Tree Hill? God help her.

..

**A/N: Please let me know if you guys want me to continue. I haven't read any stories quite like this one so I thought it would be refreshing. Reviews are very much appreciated.**


	2. Baby Mama

"He's really talking about moving home?" Haley asked hopefully. God knows she has missed her childhood bestfriend. He left so many years ago to follow Peyton to chase her dreams in LA, only for her to say no to his proposal. She missed him terribly, but was happy that he had found Lindsey. From what he had spoken of her, she seemed lovely.

"Yep," Brooke nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. "Lets hope he hasn't royally fucked up this relationship by hiding the fact he's a sperm donor."

"Don't call him that," Haley shook her head. "We all know Lucas Scott is so much more than that. He was your first love, Brooke. Hell, your **only** love. You could have had any sperm in the world, and we all know why you chose **him** to ask."

"Haley James Scott I am not still harboring feelings for the blond Scott. Yes, I love him, but I am happy for him. I chose him because I trust him and I know him and lets face it Tutormom the Scott boys have some damn good genes." Brooke raised an eyebrow to make a point. "I mean c'mon look at Asher, he's gunna be a total heartbreaker."

Haley sighed and looked out the back sliding doors at Jamie and Asher playing basketball. It was kind of amazing to see the next generation of Scott boys doing what they loved best – playing basketball, following in similar shoes to their fathers. "So lets say hypothetically Lindsey takes this well, and they move back. What are you going to do about Ash man?"

"What do you mean?" Brooke took a bite of her bagel. "We agreed before I was even pregnant that Lucas had no ties to him. The whole arrangement was based upon the fact that I would be a single mom. Lord knows Brooke Davis does _not_ need a man."

"Yeah I know that," Haley pushed some of her blonde highlighted hair from her face. "But seriously, this is Lucas we're talking about. Being around Asher and seeing what he created – he's totally gunna want to more than just a 'sperm donor'."

"You're crazy Hales," Brooke laughed. "I've sent Lucas pictures every Christmas. Trust me he does **not** wanna be tied down with a son. We have always been on the same page."

"If you say so," Haley waved her hand to end the conversation. "I still can't believe he hasn't called me to tell me. I mean moving to Tree Hill is kind of a big deal. Any details of when?"

Brooke shook her head, "nope!"

"Momma!" Jamie popped his head in, "Me and Asher are thirsty!"

"Asher and I, honey." Haley corrected which made Brooke giggle at the fact that some things indeed don't change. "Here." Haley handed her son two bottles of water from the fridge. "If you two get too hot you need to take a break okay? Last thing I want to do with my day is taking you two to the hospital for a heat stroke."

Jamie laughed. "Okay momma whatever you say!" The door slammed behind him and the two women giggled.

"God, can they just stop growing already?" Brooke pouted.

"I know! Don't you miss the good ole days when you could just hold them and they didn't talk back?" Haley smiled.

"Those were the days!" Brooke toasted her coffee cup.

"You've come a long ways, Tigger," Haley reached over and took Brooke's hand into her own. "I couldn't ask for a better bestfriend or godmother of my son."

"Oh Tutormom!" Brooke fanned her eyes. "Stop it you're gunna ruin my makeup! MAC should never be smeared! Blasphemy!"

Haley laughed and grabbed her own cup of coffee blowing some of the steam off the top. "How are the sketches coming along?"

"Almost done!" Brooke answered excitedly. "I'm really happy with them. And when production starts Jamie is definitely going to be the best dressed kid in school. Well, next to Asher!"

"You are too much," Haley shook her head and chuckled.

"I think I'm gunna take the boys to the aquarium this weekend, do you think they'll like that?"

"Are you kidding? They'll love it Brooke."

"Honey!" they heard Nathan's voice radiate through the foyer. "You'll never guess who I just found in our driveway!"

Brooke and Haley looked at each other curiously before the brunette Scott came into view with lots of grocery bags.

"Who?" Haley's interest was peaked.

"Surprise!" Lucas jumped out from around the corner followed by a blonde beauty.

"OHMYGOD!" Haley screamed and took off running into the arms of whom she considered a brother. "I can't believe you're here! What are you doing here?!"

Lucas could barely breathe for a moment as the wind was knocked out of him. He caught sight of Brooke at the island and was taken back by how little she had aged over the years. "Oh c'mon Haley-Bob, I won't believe for a second that Cheery over here didn't already spill the beans. Plus, you're a bad liar."

Haley pulled back and smiled sheepishly. "Guilty." Then she smacked him hard in the chest.

"Ow!" he put his hand over the stinging spot. "What was that for?!"

"For not telling me yourself mister!" Haley wagged her finger in a motherly way. "And seriously? I just got told like twenty minutes ago and I don't think anyone was expecting you this soon! I mean it's been two days!"

Lucas laughed. "Oh god! Forgive me, you guys, this is my fiancé, Lindsey!" He grabbed Lindsey's hand and pulled her up into better view. "And we weren't expecting to come so soon, but it just seemed like the right time."

"Hi," Haley held out her hand to Lindsey. "I've heard so much about you. Nice to finally put a face on you!"

"I hope all good things," Lindsey smiled brightly.

"Of course!" Haley smiled.

"Oh c'mere Brooke," Lucas held out his arms, "I haven't even gotten a proper welcome home hug!"

Brooke smiled and rolled her eyes for effect before standing up and wrapping her arms around his torso. She squeezed tight and inhaled his leather jacket that still smelled of the same cologne he used all through highschool. "It's nice to see your face, Broody."

Lucas inhaled the smell of her hair and closed his eyes for a brief moment. Still vanilla. "Brooke," he said as he pulled back, "This is Lindsey."

Brooke regained composure and put on a bright smile as she took Lindsey's hand in her own. "It's nice to meet the woman who has made this goofball so happy."

Lindsey forced the best smile she could muster. "It's nice to meet you too, Brooke. I have to admit, finding out about the situation you two are in, I was a little intimidated and upset, but Lucas has explained it all to me, and I feel a little better. I love him, so we are going to make the best of it."

"Well," Nathan finally spoke to cut the little bit of tension that hung in the air, "Since you guys are here, you'll have to stay for lunch! We were already having a little cookout, and I've got enough steak for us all."

"Oh no," Lindsey held out her hand, "I'm a vegetarian."

"Well that's okay," Haley assured the blonde. "I'm sure I've got some stuff I can whip up for you, no worries!"

'Thank you' Lucas mouthed from behind Lindsey.

"So, where's my godson?" Lucas breathed out with a clap of his hands.

"He's out back with Asher doing what they're always doing," Nathan laughed as he began to unload all the groceries and supplies he needed to get the grill fired up.

"Basketball," Brooke explained when Lucas looked a little confused.

Lucas chest swelled a little bit at the thought that his son liked basketball. "Is it okay that I go see them?"

"Of course!" Brooke answered as if he was crazy for asking in the first place.

"Actually," Haley piped up from helping her husband sort through the bags, "why don't you take them both a popsicle? It's almost 90 degrees out there and they are as stubborn as their fathers."

Lucas laughed and opened the freezer in search of the popsicles.

"Here," Brooke leaned in beside him. "You'll learn quick enough, Jamie likes the orange and Ash man is all about the blue. The rest of the colors are for us to pick off." She winked and broke off the appropriate colors and handed them to him.

Lindsey cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable with their current position.

"C'mon babe," Lucas guided Linds towards the sliding glass doors. "Come meet Asher and Jamie."

"Well that wasn't awkward," Nathan mumbled which earned him a slap from both women left in the kitchen. "What? It was!"

"I'm sure this is very hard for her," Brooke defended Lindsey as she looked out the doors to watch the first interaction of Lucas with their son.

..

"I heard some boys out here might be hot," Lucas spoke as he came across the 5 year old duo.

"UNCLE LUCAS!" Jamie shouted and ran as fast as he could to wrap his little arms around Lucas' legs.

"I come bearing popsicles!" Lucas held up.

"Woohoo!" Asher cheered on and proceeded to snatch the blue one out of his hands. "How did you know blue was my favorite?"

Lucas' voice was trapped in his throat momentarily. This was the first time he was ever seeing the boy he helped create in person and to say it was earth shattering was underrated. He took in all of the boy's characteristics and physical attributes. Crazy curly brown hair, blue eyes to match his own. He also noticed he inherited Brooke's amazing dimples and his nose and ears. He shook his thoughts away and focused on being there in the moment. "Well your mom told me silly!"

"This is my Uncle Lucas!" Jamie explained to his cousin and bestfriend proudly. "That's where I got my middle name!"

"Cool!" Asher smiled and started on his popsicle.

"Jamie, this is my fiancé, Lindsey," Lucas put his hands on Jamie's shoulders.

"Hi Lindsey!" Jamie beamed up, already starting to get orange all over his face.

"Hi Jamie," Lindsey bent down to shake his sticky hand. "It's very nice to meet you. Your uncle Luke talks about you a whole bunch."

"Uncle Lucas, do you wanna play basketball with me and Asher?" Jamie jumped up and down.

"Sure kiddo!" Lucas laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Is that such a good idea?" Lindsey whispered as she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows confusingly. "He's my godson, Lindsey. I've missed out on so much."

"Not him, I mean spending time with Asher," she explained further. "You told me nothing would chsnge between us."

"And nothing will," Lucas laughed it off. "I told you, Asher is Brooke's child, I just helped her get him into this world."

Lindsey let go of his shirt and sighed. Worried was the understatement of the world.

"Lets get this grill fired UP!" Nathan came out with marinated steaks.

Brooke and Haley followed him out. Haley went to help Nathan get the grill started and Brooke looked over at Lucas lifting Asher up to the basketball hoop. She glanced over at Lindsey and could read her expression like an open book. This just could not end well.


	3. Awake My Soul

Lucas joined his younger brother on the couch as a rerun of Friends played on the 50 inch flatscreen.

Nathan reached down beside him into the cooler and grabbed a beer before tossing one to the lighter haired Scott.

"Thanks," Lucas caught it with a smile. "I can't believe they still show these reruns," he laughed. "I mean I was watching these episodes as a kid."

"Hey man, it's a classic!" Nathan defended playfully. "Finally escape the estrogen?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "They are cleaning up the mess and blabbing about girl shit."

Nathan laughed and raised up his arm as Jamie climbed up next to him. "Hey buddy, did you have a good time today?"

Jamie yawned and leaned back into the crook of his arm. "Yeah. Mommy and Aunt Brooke are being boring."

The men laughed. Nathan noticed Asher standing alone in the doorway with a sad look on his face. "Ash man, where ya been?!" Nathan tried to make him smile. "Get over here with the boys! I bet we can find a good movie on PPV!" Yeah, that did the trick.

A huge smile broke out on his face before he came bounding up to the trio and jumped on the other side of Nathan.

"Lets see what we got," Nathan started to browse through the channels. "Frozen?"

"No!" Asher busted into a fit of giggles knowing full well his uncle was joking. "That's a _girl_ movie!"

"A girl movie huh?" Nathan smirked, happy to have cheered his nephew up.

Lucas watched the interaction with the utmost curiosity. He almost got lost in the sound of Asher's voice and it took him a few moments to realize that the little boy had inherited Brooke's famous rasp to his voice. A small smile graced his lips at the thought. Genetics were incredible to see. He also couldn't help to realize a slight tinge of jealousy at the situation. Here his brother was with two little boys that saw the world in him, cuddled up to watch a children's movie. He had just met the boy he helped bring in to the world, and that kid was already pulling at the strings on his heart.

"The Lego movie!" Asher's yelling and bouncing up and down broke him from his thoughts.

"YEAH DAD!" Jamie was equally excited.

"The Lego movie huh?" Nathan teased. "Alright it's a deal. Jamie, why don't you ask your mom if she can make us some popcorn?"

"What's the matter Hot Shot," Brooke's voice radiated from the kitchen doorway, "too lazy to get up and make it yourself?"

"Ooo uncle Nathan, momma called you lazy!" Asher giggled with his hands over his mouth.

"Oh it is on, Davis!" Nathan threatened before jumping up to chase her which in turn caused Brooke to squeal anxiously before getting a head start running.

"Kids," Jamie shook his head.

Lucas let out a real laugh. One of those stomach turning, feel it in your guts laugh. It was so hard for him to believe he had spent this much time away from his family. In his heart, in this exact moment, he couldn't imagine being anywhere else in the world.

"Don't let him get you mom!" Asher stood up on the couch cheering Brooke on.

"You're supposed to be on the man's side!" Jamie explained.

"Nu uh," Asher counter-replied. "Momma said you always gotta stick up for the girls."

"Jamie listen to your cousin," Haley smiled placing a few bowls of popcorn on the coffee table. "He's got the right idea. You know how to treat a lady huh Ash?"

Asher stuck his tongue out at Jamie for winning the argument momentarily. "Yep! I will buy her flowers, and hold her hand, and I will take her dancing."

"Alright there Bruno Mars," Brooke teased her son as she re-entered the living room. "Slow down there, you're not having a girlfriend until you're 30, got it?"

"What about Piper?" Jamie teased him. "Asher's got a giiiirlfriend!"

"Who is Piper?" Brooke asked quizzically.

"Harmless," Haley answered plopping down on the oversized ottoman. "She's this little blonde cutie in their class."

"She is NOT my girlfriend!" Asher argued back getting a little worked up at the accusation. "I don't even like yellow hair!"

"Atta boy!" Brooke picked him up and twirled him around before taking over his previous spot with him in her lap. "Brunettes all the way!"

Her eyes twinkled as she gave Lucas a playful wink and for a moment he wished maybe perhaps he had chosen to be in Asher's life more.

"Hey babe," a kiss on the cheek from Lindsey pulled him from his thoughts.

"Hey," Lucas cleared his throat a little, feeling guilty he hadn't even thought about the fact she was still in the house.

"I'm a little tired babe, you about ready to go?" Lindsey raked her nails lightly across his scalp.

"But we are about to watch the Lego movie!" Jamie pouted. "Uncle Luke you're supposed to watch it with us! You just got here today!"

Lucas ran a hand over his face and internally groaned. He hated being put in these situations. He looked up at his fiancé with a pleading expression. "I _did_ just get back into town babe. You can go ahead and head to the hotel if you want, I just wanna stick around a little longer and hang out."

"Okay," Lindsey hid her disappointment. "See you in a bit?"

"You got it," Lucas smiled, happy that this wasn't going to turn into an argument. He gave her a peck on the lips and waited till the front door closed before he turned his attention back to everyone. "Nate, man! What's taking so long?! Don't you realize how important the Lego movie is?!"

Nathan came back in the living room double

fisting a couple of beers. "We were out of beer!"

The adults all laughed and Nathan joined Haley on the chair and hit play. Brooke and Lucas smiled at each other and the two little guys made themselves comfortable surrounding Brooke and started to dig into the popcorn bowl on her lap as the opening credits started up.

..

Lucas stretched his arms out as the movie came to an end and looked to his right to see Brooke, Jamie, and Asher all passed out on top of each other.

"They're cute, huh?" Haley whispered as she got up off of Nathan's lap who also happened to be dozing.

"Yeah," Lucas whispered admiring the scene. He looked at his watch and realized he should probably get going soon if he didn't want an angry fiancé waiting. "Do you want me to wake her?"

"No, no!" Haley swooshed her hands at him. "Just leave her be. I know she's exhausted and if we wake her she'll probably try to stay up all night finishing her designs."

"That bad?" Luke asked concerned.

"You know how she is," Haley said in a motherly tone as she covered the three up with a throw blanket.

"Hard-headed?"

"Driven."

Lucas nodded in agreement. That was definitely a good word to describe his ex girlfriend. Determined might even be a better choice. Strong. Brave. Amazing. "Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday." He quoted his own writing.

"I can see it in your eyes Lucas Eugene Scott, and I know you all too well," Haley leaned down and took one of his hands in her own, "but I'm telling you, don't get too involved, okay? You have a fiancé and there are some definite lines drawn here. Don't confuse this."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he got defensive and pulled his hand away.

"I've seen you staring at him all evening," Haley called him out. She raised an eyebrow daring him to lie to her.

"He's an amazing kid," Lucas sighed.

"He is," she agreed, "Brooke raised him to be. And you are an _amazing_ man to give her that chance to do so. I'm just warning you. You love Lindsey. She's being so accepting of the bomb you just dropped on her a few days ago and now she's being thrown into this head first."

"I know, I know," Luke buried his face in his hands. "I'm just second guessing myself. What if this is my only shot at having a kid, Hales? What if he's it? I'm so scared I'm going to look back at my life and regret not taking the opportunity to be a **father**."

"Tread lightly," Haley shook her head. Oh what a mess. "You better get going." She patted his leg and gave him a hug as he stood up. "Seriously Luke, please just think this through. This is a child we're talking about here. I know Brooke and she would be willing to let you be his father, but everything has consequences."

"I will," Lucas hugged her back. "I promise."

"I love you Luke. I'm really happy you're home…"

He kissed the top of her head and gave Brooke and Asher one more longing look before making his way outside to call a taxi. He had a lot to think about over the next few days.


	4. House Hunting

"This one is so perfect!" Lindsey gushed taking a hold of Luke's bicep. "Please can we get this one?"

Lucas sighed and ran a hand through his buzzed hair. "I don't know." To be honest, this whole house hunting day was stressing him out more than he cared to share out loud.

"What's wrong with this one?" Lindsey started to get irritated. "This is the fourth house we've looked at and you haven't been interested in any of them!"

"I don't know, none of them feel right." He shrugged as he looked through the real estate classifieds.

"What are you talking about? That last one was gorgeous and we could afford it. We've been living out of that hotel for almost a week now and I'm tired of it, Luke."

"I know, I know," he groaned and gave her a pleading look. "Buying a house is a huge deal and _a lot_ of money Linds. It's not something I'm going to jump into without thinking it through."

"You asked me to marry you and asked me to follow you here so you could live in your childhood town," Lindsey argued. "I did that without a second thought because **I love you**."

"I know that," Lucas huffed as he got into the driver's seat of his Range Rover. "But whatever house I buy is where we're going to live for a _very_ long time. I want it to be perfect."

"Two of these _have_ been perfect!" she slammed the passenger door as she climbed in. "Are you rethinking this? Because I'm starting to get the feeling you aren't 100% invested in us starting a life together."

"What?!" he threw his hands in the air as if she was crazy. "That's **not** it! Maybe your and I's idea of a perfect house isn't the same thing."

Lindsey sighed and looked out of the window. "Then what is your idea of a perfect home?" She turned to look at him with her blue eyes on the verge of tears spilling over.

Lucas leaned his head back on the headrest and thought for a moment. "Maybe right on the beach, where I can wake up in the morning and run right by the water. White picket fence, a small little two story. Nothing extravagant."

"Fine, then lets try to find a home like that. Honestly I don't even care anymore, anything to get out of that damn hotel!" She returned back to stare out of the window and after a few moments of Lucas sitting in thought he started the ignition.

..

"It went amazing!" Brooke gushed through the phone. "They absolutely loved my designs and signed the deal right then and there!"

"Oh Tigger that's so great!" Haley squealed on the other end.

"I know, I have a weight off of my shoulders now!" Brooke sighed happily pulling into the Tree Hill kindergarten. "I just had to call and tell you the news first thing! I'm picking up the boys from school so I'll call you this evening with more details. Love you!"

"Love you too!"

Brooke hung up with a huge smile on her face and headed up the sidewalk to the front doors. Today had put her in such a good mood, and she was definitely celebrating with a pint of Ben and Jerry's tonight. She deserved it.

"Momma!" Asher yelled when he saw her come through the doors.

"Hi my baby!" Brooke knelt down to his level and gave him a hug. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yep! Me and Jamie drew a really cool dragon during art hour!"

"Oh well I am totally gunna have to put that one on the fridge! Hi Jimmy Jam! You two studs ready to bust out of here?" She tickled them both sending them reeling in laughter.

"Sure am Aunt Brooke!" Jamie cheesed. "I'm so excited about our sleepover!"

"Well," Brooke smirked, "you'll be even more excited when I tell you I got the new Transformers movie!"

"OH YEAH!" Asher high-fived his cousin.

"This is the best day EVER!" Jamie jumped up and down.

"Well lets hop to it!" Brooke took their backpacks for them. "If we hurry we might still have enough daylight to have some beach fun!"

..

Lucas couldn't even muster a word as he walked throughout the beach house home. Perfect was an understatement. He ran his hand along the wall as he walked through the foyer.

"This looks old," Lindsey scrunched her nose at the dust settled along the few pieces of furniture left behind by previous owners.

"It's the one," Lucas breathed out as he looked out the back door that led to the beach.

"Seriously?" Lindsey asked dumbfounded. "You cannot be serious!"

But oh he was. It had three bedrooms, one of which looked out over the ocean and was perfect for an office. He could just imagine spending his time at that window writing. He opened up the door and closed his eyes, soaking in the smell of salt water and sand. He turned back to his fiancé and smiled. "This is the one, Linds."

"Oh god, you _are_ serious," Lindsey frowned. "This place is going to need some serious work, ya know? The crown molds are hideous."

Lucas ignored her comment, lost in bliss. He followed the wooden path out to the beach and knew this is exactly where he wanted to live for the rest of his life. Some children's laughter caught his attention and he looked a little over to his left to see a woman and two boys out on the edge of the waves crashing onto shore. He squinted a little more and realized it was Brooke, Asher, and Jamie. He smiled to himself and let his feet guide him towards them.

"Hey strangers!" he shouted through his hands as he got closer.

Brooke and the boys looked up.

"Uncle Lucas!" Jamie shouted with the biggest smile. "Come help me bury Asher in the sand!"

Lucas chuckled and shoved his hands into his khaki shorts.

"Well hello there stranger," Brooke slid her large sunglasses to the top of her head. "What are you doing in these parts?"

Lucas gulped and tried to look anywhere but directly at her, considering she was in a black bikini and looked even **better** than in highschool. How that was even possible was beyond him, but she had definitely gotten some abs over the past few years. He cleared his throat and smiled at the sight of Jamie having gotten about half of Asher's body covered in sand. "I was looking at the house for sale up the hill. I think I'm going to buy it."

"That older one?" Brooke pointed to the exact one he was referring to.

"Yeah," Lucas nodded. "It's perfect for me."

Brooke decided not to comment on the fact he didn't include Lindsey in that. "Well, I guess congratulations are in order, neighbor." She tied her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head and smiled up at him.

"Neighbor?" he asked confused. "Where do you live?"

Brooke chuckled and stood up beside him, brushing the sand off of her butt. "You see that house next to the one you like?" He nodded. "That would be _my_ house."

"You're kidding?" he laughed and dared a glance at her.

"Not at all," her dimples went into full effect. "Bought the place about a year after Asher was born."

"Wow," Lucas' mind was reeling. Was this a sign or just a coincidence? And would Lindsey even be willing next door to Brooke Davis? "I've been meaning to tell you," he lowered his voice a decimal, "Asher is an amazing kid. I kept looking him over the other night and it's just amazing the different qualities he took from both of us to create this one human being."

Brooke nodded and looked back over to see Jamie had almost completely covered him in sand, except his head and they were laughing about god knows what. "Yeah, we did good Scott. Have I ever thanked you?"

"A million times," Lucas chuckled. He accidentally caught her eyes and they stared at each for a long moment before he heard Lindsey calling his name.

"Hi Lindsey!" Brooke waved politely at the approaching blonde.

"Hi Brooke," Lindsey smiled back. "What are you doing out here?" She slid her arm around Luke's waist and looked over at the boys and back to the adult duo.

"I live right up there," Brooke pointed her to house. "And my designs for a children's line got signed today so we're just enjoying the little daylight left before we have our 'boys night'," she air quoted.

"That's so great Brooke!" Lucas smiled. "You didn't even tell me!"

Brooke shrugged and tried not to be arrogant. "Just a little something I've been working on on the side. Lindsey I heard you guys were interested in the house next door. It's a great location let me tell you. Doesn't get better than that."

"Oh?" Lindsey raised an eyebrow at Lucas. "We're not for sure, we were just checking out houses today. Not rushing into anything."

"We're definitely getting that one," Lucas argued in a 'trying to be nice' tone.

Brooke could feel the tension between the two starting to rise. "Well, it was great seeing the two of you. If you guys decide on it you should definitely come join us on Saturday nights! The Naley clan come over and we play family games and have dinner."

"That sounds perfect," Lucas quickly agreed. Truly, it did.

"Well boys," Brooke started to gather their things up, "We should go get washed up before we order pizza and watch Transformers."

"Yeah!" Jamie and Asher squealed.

"Wait, I'm stuck!" Asher tried to break free of the sand but was failing miserably. "It's too heavy!"

"I got you Ash," Lucas jumped to help him. He took Asher's hands into his own and counted to three before he lifted his son out from the sand and high into the air. "Ahhh, the sand monster has escaped!" he said in a deep funny voice. "Jamie, you better run for your life! He looks mighty hungry!"

Jamie could barely breathe he was laughing so hard as Lucas carried Asher above his head and started running after the boy that could pass as his own son with that hair.

The two women watched on, one in complete amusement and the other annoyed.

"Luke, c'mon," Lindsey hollered after him. "There's a house near downtown I want to look at before the sun sets."

Lucas felt a slight pang in his heart as he sat Asher down.

"Thanks, Lucas," Asher looked up at him with matching eyes. It hit him then that this was the first time Asher had spoken directly to him, and he swore it was possibly one of the best moments he had ever experienced. Asher then took off to chase Jamie down and Lucas waved at the two of them disappearing as they neared Brooke's house.

He turned back to the women and knew right then and there that he was going to talk to both of them about being involved in Asher's life.

Lucas started to follow Lindsey back up the hill but grabbed Brooke's arm lightly before he did so. "Hey Brooke, do you think we could talk sometime this weekend? I have a lot I want to say."

"Sure," she smiled and picked up the towels off of the beach. "Just give me a call and we'll work something out. Nice seeing you Broody."

He caught up with Lindsey a few moments later and could see she was fuming inside.

"You KNEW Brooke lived there, didn't you?!"

Fuck. He sighed and knew he was in for it now.

**A/N: Sorry guys have been a little busy. Hope you liked the update. Reviews and ideas are always appreciated.**


	5. Like Mother, Like Son

"You cannot defeat me, silly little deceptacon," Asher jumped up on the couch, "I am Optimus Prime!"

"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that!" Jamie laughed evilly and they both started to fight with their action figures.

Brooke giggled behind the kitchen island as she watched them. She took a picture of them on her phone and sent it to Haley.

The doorbell rang and she put down her phone from texting her bestfriend. "Wooo pizza's here!" she clapped.

"WOOHOO!" Jamie jumped up and down on the couch. "I'm gunna eat the whole pizza by myself!"

"Nu uh you have to share momma said!" Asher argued.

Jamie stuck his tongue out and Asher tackled him down, both of them landing in a fit of giggles.

"Will you two calm down?" Brooke chuckled before grabbing a twenty dollar bill and opening the door. To her surprise, it wasn't the pizza man at all. "Luke?" she asked concerned. "What in the world are you doing here?"

He stood there with his hands in his pockets nervously. "I got into a really big argument with Lindsey. Do you think we could move that talk up… to like now?"

She raised her eyebrow and opened the door a little further to give him space to enter.

"Hey!" Asher's head popped up over one of the couch cushions. "You're not the pizza man!"

Lucas held up his hands. "Guilty as charged."

"What are you doing here uncle Lucas?" Jamie's head followed the same motion. "Did you come to have guys night too?"

"I came to talk to your Aunt Brooke, but I might could swing a little guy time, if that's okay with the boss," he smiled lightly. He was pretty exhausted from the fight at the hotel a little bit ago.

"Can he momma?" Asher asked with his best practiced puppy face.

"Maybe," Brooke pointed her finger playfully at the two boys. "Only if you two can behave! You're acting like I just fed you two pounds of chocolate!"

"Is there two pounds of chocolate here?" the two adults heard Jamie whisper to his cousin.

"What's going on, Luke?" Brooke touched his arm worriedly. "What on earth could you and Lindsey fight about to make you leave? You're not the storming out type Broody." She motioned for him to join her at the island while the boys got back into Transformers mode.

Lucas sat down and laid his forehead into the palm of his hands. When he finally looked up at her she could read his mind instantly without him needing to say a thing.

"Ash?" she whispered.

He only nodded in response.

"Luke, I thought you both talked about this, especially if you said everything I told you to…"

"It's not that," he whispered back, not wanting his son and nephew to overhear. "It's that I kind of changed my mind."

Brooke's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. She racked her brain but came up empty. "About what?"

"Ya know, when we first did this thing, I was fine not being involved," he explained. "But when I met him, god, something in me just changed Brooke. I can't explain it. Just meeting him… I hate not being around and fully _knowing_ him, ya know? I don't want to regret this decision."

"Luke," Brooke started to stop him from speaking any further, already nervous with the way the conversation was going.

"No," he cut her off, "I want to be a dad."

"I hear you," she rubbed her forehead. "But this is some last minute thing you've come up with and you don't understand the consequences of what you're saying. You're talking about flipping Asher's world and what if you change your mind? A kid is not just playing the part and getting to hang out, please trust me on this I've been doing this for 5 years."

"I know that," he whispered harshly. "This isn't last minute, I've been thinking about this nonstop since the day I got into town. That's why I left the hotel. I told Linds how much I wanted to be a dad and she threw the fact she can't have kids in my face and was angry then started on about me taking you to court for full custody…"

"I am going to fucking kill her!" Brooke's voice raised higher than it should have in their current situation before starting for the front door.

Lucas grabbed her around her waist and pulled her back onto his lap. "Brooke, look at me. You know I would never even think of doing such a thing." He grabbed her face and made her look him in the eyes, happy that the gesture seemed to calm her down considerably.

"Momma, why you angry?" Asher walked up to them with a nervous look. It was very rare for Brooke to ever raise her voice.

"Momma isn't angry," Brooke cooed reassuringly.

"Your mom was just showing me what angry looked like," Lucas chimed in.

"Oh…" Asher seemed to roll the thought around, "okay."

The doorbell rang and Brooke jumped up, just now realizing she had currently been in her ex boyfriend's lap, who was engaged to another woman.

"That must be the pizza man," she mumbled. She hurriedly grabbed the money once again and greeted the delivery man cheerily.

Lucas watched as the guy plainly flirted with her and wrote his number on the receipt he handed her. He shook his head. Could he blame the guy?

"Alright," Brooke kicked the door shut behind her as she balanced two pizza boxes in her hand. "Who's ready for pizza and Transformers?"

"WE ARE!" Asher and Jamie shouted at the top of their lungs.

She sat the boxes down on the counter and reached up to grab a few plates from the cupboard.

Lucas picked up the receipt and smirked. "You gunna call him?"

Brooke looked over to see what he was talking about and smiled. "I don't think pizza guys are my type," she chuckled. She grabbed a few water bottles from the fridge and Lucas tried not to pay too much attention to her bent over position.

"What is your type these days?" he helped carry the stuff to the coffee table.

"Well," Brooke pondered, "I haven't dated since highschool so I'll get back to you when I get a type."

Lucas was dumbfounded. "Highschool?"

"Don't flatter yourself," she swatted at him with the napkins. They both sat the plates down and opened up the pizza boxes before Brooke popped in the movie. "Let guys night commence," she said before hitting play.

"How is it a guys night when you're a girl?" Lucas asked.

"Because Aunt Brooke is just as cool as a boy," Jamie sputtered with a mouth full of pepperoni pizza.

"I guess she is," Lucas winked at his ex before taking his own bite of pizza.

..

Lucas tried to open his eyes and groaned at the sunlight flooding in. He sat up off the couch and stretched, looking around to see what noise woke him up.

Brooke flinched. "Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to wake you. I was just gunna whip up something for breakfast."

"You cook now?" Lucas yawned.

"Not really, but I have learned how to **not** burn eggs and toast as of late," she laughed.

"God," Lucas groaned, "those kids can party."

"Yes they can," Brooke agreed.

"Listen," Lucas said after a few moments of silence. "about what I said last night…"

Brooke held up her hand. "You don't have to explain, Luke. I can't really fight you on this if this is what you really want. You are his father and I could never be that person to take that title away from you. Things change, people change. Just know, we're just gunna have to go slow with this, okay? It's sort of a huge deal."

Lucas nodded, agreeing to all she was saying. "I'm totally on board with all of that."

"And what about Lindsey?" Brooke went straight to the elephant in the room. "You left angry last night and she's probably worried. Your phone's been going off for a good half hour now."

Lucas reached over to the coffee table and picked up his phone to confirm it. Seventeen missed calls, all of them from Lindsey. "I don't even know what to say to her right now…"

"Well you have to talk to her," Brooke pointed at him with a spatula. "You asked her to marry you and she followed you down here, you've got to work something out. But let me tell you, if she _ever_ brings up custody again I'm likely to kill her, I'm just saying."

Lucas nodded again. "Understood."

"Now," Brooke resumed her cooking, "why don't we let your first step into fatherhood waking up the boys for breakfast. I should warn you, Asher is pretty grumpy in the mornings. You have to bribe him."

"Just like his mother," Lucas smiled angelic at her as he ascended the staircase.


	6. Footnote

"Where have you been?" Lindsey's blue crystals were rimmed red from crying all night, which immediately made Lucas feel guilty.

"Honestly?" he said, "I went to talk to Brooke about Asher, and I wound up crashing on the couch after hanging out with them. Then we all ate breakfast and I went for a run before coming back here."

Lindsey blew her nose into a tissue and stared at her hands in silence. "I was worried sick. I called you countless times."

"I needed some time to think," Lucas sat down beside her.

"You know, if you want a kid that badly, we can always look into adoption," Lindsey offered pleadingly.

Lucas shook his head. "The last thing we need is to bring a child into this unstable relationship. It's not about just having a kid, Linds. It's about the fact that I already helped bring one into the world. At first it was about helping Brooke become the one thing she has always dreamt about – a mother. But when I saw him in person, there was just this instant connection. It's so hard to explain to you, and I'm not sure you'll ever understand. But Brooke is willing to let me be his _dad_, and if you can't accept this part of my life, then I will understand. I will pay for you a flight back to LA." He finally looked up at her and his words sunk in.

Lucas could see the wheels turning in her head.

Desperation made you do things that you would normally never stand for. "We'll buy that beach house," she eventually choked out. "We'll work out with Brooke what days you'll have Asher and we'll figure the rest out. I don't want to lose you Lucas."

Lucas again shook his head. "That isn't how this works, Lindsey. This isn't a custody agreement. This is just me going to spend time with him whenever I want. And you have to understand that it might be a lot. I know I told you nothing would change, but that's before I saw pieces of me in me. He could use more than just an uncle."

"Why?" Lindsey asked. When Lucas looked confused she elaborated. "Why out of all the women in the world, did you choose Brooke to carry your child?"

Lucas thought hard before speaking. "Because I knew how much of an amazing mother she would be. She's always just wanted to be a mom. She never got the kind of love from her parents that every child needs, and I think that always made her want to give a child what she never had. She's smart, beautiful, and has the biggest heart. There aren't many people like Brooke Davis in the world."

Lindsey's brows furrowed together. "You sound like you're in love with her."

"It's not even like that," Lucas groaned. "I can't take anymore of this from you. You make me want to come apart. Stop with the insecurities. If you can't deal with Asher and Brooke as a permanent fixture in my life then we shouldn't go any further with this engagement. I'd expect this kind of stuff from Peyton, but I thought you were better than this!"

"Did you seriously just compare me to Peyton?!" Lindsey jumped up angry.

"See?!" Lucas shouted, "this is _exactly _what I'm talking about! You're being so immature and childish!"

"Well I certainly don't need this emotional abuse!"

"Oh god! Are you **serious** right now?!" Lucas laughed angrily.

"Put me on that flight!" Lindsey started storming around the hotel, gathering up her clothing.

"Linds…"

"No! Don't even bother trying to stop me!" Lindsey cried. "You asked me to marry you and now you're telling me your son that you never had an interest in is now more important! Unbelievable!"

That statement was what finally opened his eyes about the blonde. He watched intently as she ran around the hotel like a chicken with its head cut off. She was so much like Peyton and he didn't even realize it until this moment. Was that what had attracted him to his publisher in the first place? Did he just have this horrible habit of picking emotional unstable women?

His brain seemed to have tuned out all traces of sound as he gathered up his few suitcases and left the hotel room, only hearing Lindsey's shouting as he heard the door click closed behind him.

A smile graced his lips the further he got down the hallway.

..

"Didn't expect to see you back so soon," Brooke opened her front door surprised.

"I didn't expect to be back so soon," Lucas smiled before stepping in.

"What happened?" Brooke asked shutting the door and pulling her robe a little tighter to her body.

"She can't deal with the situation," Lucas shrugged before flopping down on the large leather couch.

"Well," Brooke walked to the kitchen and starting to pour two cups of coffee, "you can't really blame her. This isn't the way any of this was supposed to go down." She walked over and handed him a cup and sat beside him.

"Well, this is what I want," he said sternly.

"Just make sure," Brooke nudged him with her shoulder.

Lucas smiled at the beautiful brunette. "I am sure."

"Aunt Brooke when are we leaving?" they heard Jamie shout from upstairs.

Brooke looked at the clock above the TV. "In about 20 minutes Jimmy Jam!" Brooke shouted back. "You two get dressed and get your shoes on!"

"Going somewhere?" Lucas asked before taking a gulp of coffee.

"I promised the boys we'd go to the aquarium today," Brooke replied. "You're welcome to join us."

"You sure? I don't want to cut into your time…"

"Nonsense," Brooke waved him off. "Just let me go get ready and then we'll head out. Maybe we can talk to Ash tonight."

"That sounds great," Lucas said sincerely. A small smile grew on his lips as he thought about telling his son who he really was. He hoped everything went well.

True to her word, in 20 minutes Brooke came down the stairs in a black tank top and some _very_ short shorts on that left little room for Lucas' imagination. She had barely put any makeup on and her hair was thrown up into a ponytail, and Luke had to mentally slap himself for thinking how gorgeous she looked when he had just broken up with his fiancé less than an hour ago.

"C'mon boys!" Brooke shouted as she grabbed her keys and purse.

"Coming momma!" Asher's raspy followed suit.

"We can take my vehicle," Lucas offered. "There's more room."

"Thanks," Brooke smiled cutely.

What was she doing to his heart?

"We're ready!" Asher and Jamie appeared at the bottom of the staircase.

"You're back!" Jamie hugged Lucas and he lifted him up. "Are you coming to the aquarium with us Uncle Lucas?"

"I sure am J-Luke!" Lucas poked his ribs getting his desired reaction of laughter.

The four of them went outside while Lucas and Brooke both moved the booster seats from her car to his SUV. Lucas buckled in Jamie while Brooke did the same with Asher and they climbed in, heading off for their day at the aquarium.

Lucas couldn't help imagining that they were a little family with two boys just having a family outing. He could imagine this being his life everyday.

..

"Wow, look at that shark!" Jamie pressed his face into the glass.

"I can't see!" Asher hopped up and down trying to see over a few of the taller kids in his way.

Lucas lifted Asher on to his shoulders and watched as his face lit up with wonder. Brooke leaned onto Lucas' arm and smiled up at him which caused butterflies to ignite in the pit of his stomach.

"This is so cool!" Asher smiled brightly down at the two of them.

"We get to go pet the baby sharks outside," Lucas told him which in turn caused Asher to get antsy.

"I want to pet the baby sharks too!" Jamie shrieked hyped up on the sugar high he was currently experiencing.

"On to the baby sharks!" Lucas said in a funny voice and started to run to the doors beside the exhibit with Asher still on his shoulders. Jamie was tailing behind with excitement and Brooke made sure to capture this moment in her head forever. She was definitely going to sit down with Luke and Asher tonight and try to get their relationship started in the right direction.

"C'mon momma!" Asher waved her to follow them once they stopped at the door. She shook off her weird feelings toward the tall blonde and smiled.

"Coming baby!"

..

"They had a blast," Lucas noted quietly as he turned down Brooke's road.

Brooke looked back at the boys who were knocked out in their booster seats. "Yeah they did," she smiled. "It was the perfect day."

Lucas glanced over at her and smiled back. He wasn't sure what came over him but he reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze.

Brooke's stomach did flips. But she was Brooke Davis, and she knew better than to think anything of the gesture. She was just a footnote in Lucas Scott's love life, and she had accepted that a long time ago. She squeezed back and then slid her hand out from his before looking out into the night sky. She needed to get herself together. Yes, Lucas wanted to be apart of Asher's life, but she wasn't going to fool herself into thinking that they could ever be a _real_ family.

Lucas frowned but didn't comment on it. Sometimes he could read Brooke like an open book, but sometimes she was more complicated than any woman he had ever known.

He pulled into her driveway and there was an unrecognizable car parked. They both looked confused for a moment as he shut off the engine and they opened their doors. "Who's that?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not sure," Brooke responded. She stepped out of the passenger side and the driver door of the black car opened to reveal the last person she'd ever expect to see again.

"Brooke! And Lucas?" the woman seemed perplexed at the idea of the two of them being with each other.

"Peyton," Lucas breathed out, completely taken off guard. Peyton smiled bigger than she had in a long time and enveloped him in a huge hug.

"I had heard you were back in town but didn't expect to see you so soon!" Peyton gushed happily.

Yes, Brooke Davis had always been a footnote in Lucas Scott's love life.

**A/N: Thoughts? Opinions? Let me know. I appreciate every review and take all of them into consideration when writing. Thank you all for your words! They keep me inspired to get another chapter posted!**


	7. Liar

"What are you doing here?" Lucas was shocked to say the least. He took a good look at the curly haired blonde and realized she hadn't changed too much since he saw her a little over 2 years ago.

"Well I came by to see Brooke, I didn't expect both of you," Peyton leaned over and gave Brooke a hug. "Are congratulations in order?"

"What?" Brooke asked, "Oh, no no no, nothing like that!"

"We just got back from taking Jamie and Asher to the aquarium," Lucas further explained.

"I see," Peyton nodded. "Where's Lindsey?"

Brooke and Lucas glanced at each other awkwardly at the question.

"It's kind of complicated," Lucas tried to get away from that subject. He was feeling guilty enough at it was.

"Okaaay then," Peyton got the hint. "Well what are we doing standing outside? Lets get in where it's warm so we can catch up!"

"Okay," Brooke jumped, happy to get a break from the tension. "Luke will you grab Jamie? Just let us get them up to bed and we'll break out a bottle of wine!"

"Sure," Lucas mumbled. This was not the way he wanted this night to go. But when did things ever run smoothly lately? Tree Hill had a way of twisting everyone's lives up.

Once they had Asher and Jamie tucked into the bunkbeds, they met Peyton back downstairs, who had already made herself at home with her leather jacket strung over the back of the couch. "I can't wait to see the munchkins in the morning," she admitted happily.

"Do you need a place to crash?" Brooke asked as she searched through the wine rack.

"Only if I'm welcome!" Peyton tucked her legs in underneath herself.

"Of course you are," Brooke reassured her. "What are you doing in town?"

"To see everyone! I haven't had a chance for a vacation in nearly a year! Felt like it was time."

Lucas sat down on the chair diagonally from her. This was the epitome of awkward. He hadn't seen Peyton since she turned down his proposal, and she had seemed very happy to see him in the driveway, which only confused him more. They hadn't ended on very good terms. But once you think about, his history of break ups were pretty harsh.

"What about you Luke?" Peyton turned her attention to her ex. "What made you want to come back to little ole Tree Hill?"

"It's home," is the only answer he could come up with.

"Alright," Brooke walked over balancing three glasses and a bottle of wine between her fingers, "here we go."

"I'm curious," Peyton continued on as Brooke poured them wine, "does Asher know who you are?"

"No, we were planning on telling him tonight," Lucas replied tightly, "but plans change. Maybe tomorrow."

Brooke gave him a harsh look and mouthed 'be nice'. She turned and smiled at Peyton and handed her a glass. "Well it's nice having the gang back."

"I'm going to go ahead and guess that's why Lindsey isn't around," Peyton retorted. "She wasn't comfortable with you playing house."

"Now Peyt," Brooke stood tall, "that's enough. You are both my friends but all this hidden hostility is unnecessary. I love you both but I thought all this ex drama has been dead and gone for a while now. We're all adults, we all make decisions with consequences, and we deal with it. Now you two play nice or take it elsewhere. I've got two five year olds asleep upstairs."

She huffed and fell back onto the couch with her glass of wine. She just wanted to relax. She'd had such a good day and this was _not_ the ending she wanted.

Lucas cleared his throat and took a long swig of wine. "How long you planning on staying Peyt?"

"I'm not sure," Peyton pondered aloud. She swished her glass in circles and watched the deep red liquid swirl around. "I'm just missing something in my life. Was hoping I could figure it out while I'm home."

Brooke put her arm around Peyton's shoulders and they laid their heads together. "Your family," Brooke sighed out.

"Maybe," Peyton smiled sadly. "You're sure it's okay if I crash?"

"You know it is," Brooke smiled. "Still have the guest room set up."

Lucas finished off his glass and sat it down on one of the coasters. "I think it's about time I headed back to the hotel," he stood up. He felt really awkward with Peyton there and felt like she was ruining everything he had worked on today. "I'll call you tomorrow?" he asked to Brooke.

"Yeah, I'll text you when I drop Jimmy Jam off at Naley's house," she nodded in response.

"Night Cheery," he kissed the top of her head. "Nice to see you again Peyton." He grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger and slid out the front quietly.

"Well _that_ was awkward," Peyton said as soon as the door shut behind him.

"What was that all about?" Brooke asked, pouring both of them another glass.

"Oh c'mon, Brooke, you aren't that naive!" Peyton declared.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please! The old nicknames from highschool? He literally _just_ let go of an engagement and he's trying to play house with you and Asher!"

"It's not like that," Brooke defended. "If he wants to be a father I am the last person to hold him back from that. He gave me the best gift in the world, and I've had Ash all to myself for 5 years now. I wouldn't go so far as to say I owe him, but I kind of do."

"You don't owe him shit," Peyton argued her point. "This is typical Lucas Scott. He jumps from one girl to the next. It was like two or three months before he had moved on from me to Lindsey. That boy doesn't know how to be alone. You've been my bestfriend forever, and I don't want you hurt. He sees what a wonderful life and family you have here and he wants a part of that because it's better than what he had in his mind. It sucks Lindsey had to be a part of this fucked up cycle, but Lucas is the last person on earth that can make up his mind with women. I refuse to let him break your heart again, and definitely not Asher's if he decides this isn't what he wanted after all."

Brooke let her words sink in and although they hurt to hear, they were also partially true. "I wouldn't allow that to happen to Asher, and I wouldn't bring Lucas into his life like this if I thought this wasn't what he wanted truly. Luke is just as screwed up as the rest of us, and I think it's time that everyone stop telling him how to live his life and just let him make his own decisions. None of us are oblivious to his history with women, but this is about our son. It goes no further than that. You know as well I do, my heart is closed off. I can't imagine ever opening up like I did back in highschool. I never want to be that fragile again."

"Oh Brooke," Peyton sighed and took her into her arms. "One day a man is going to sweep you off your feet and you're going to be so happy. Just don't let it be him."

Brooke let a single tear escape but wiped it away quickly. It felt good to have Peyton here. Haley was her bestfriend now, and she had become a sister to her. But with Peyton, she felt comfortable to just let it out. No one else understood just how broken Lucas Scott had left her heart all those years ago.

They two talked a little more and finished off the bottle of wine, and after picking up their mess of old photo albums and glasses before heading to their respected rooms.

Brooke opened her closet door and pulled down an old shoebox. She sat down indian style on the carpet and pulled off the top. Inside were tons of pictures of her and Lucas back in the day, as well as old love letters and trinkets. She was finally able to truly break down. As the tears continued to fall she realized it had been years since she had let herself come apart like this. Peyton was right, she could never let Lucas hurt her again.

In the guest room, Peyton had just climbed into the bed, the only light illuminating her face from her cell phone. She tapped to compose a new message, and chose Luke to send it to. '_Hey, sorry about earlier. I guess there's just a lot of emotions still reeling from the last time I saw you. Do you think we could meet up soon and talk?_' she typed out before hitting send with a smile on her face. She finally had a chance to fix the mistake of saying no so long ago.


	8. I'm Not Yours

Brooke seemed to just run on autopilot when she awoke the next morning. She got up, showered, got ready, and fed the boys some lucky charms before dropping Jamie off with very few words shared with Haley, which was quite unusual. Peyton was already gone when she had woken up, but she didn't think much of it.

"Momma, you okay?" Asher piped up from his booster seat.

Brooke painted on a pretty smile before glancing back at him. "Yes baby. Momma just has a lot to do today. We need to stop by the store to check on some numbers with Aunt Millie and then we need to get you some new shoes for basketball."

"Okay," he seemed to accept her answer without any further questions.

Brooke's head was spinning with all kinds of thoughts, and Peyton's words from the previous night were weighing heavy on her mind. She just kept trying to remind herself that she didn't really know Lucas Scott very well. A few letters and phone calls every now and then over the years, but she didn't _know_ him – at least not how Peyton knew him. She knew high school version Lucas.

Her phone rang for the third time that morning and she looked down seeing BROODY was calling again. She hit decline and turned up the radio a little louder.

..

"Hey," Lucas nodded his head at Peyton as he slid into the booth at the coffee shop.

"Hey Luke," Peyton greeted back happily.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" he got straight to the point.

"I just wanted to catch up silly," Peyton lightly slapped his arm across the table. "And also apologize in person for how I acted like last night. I shouldn't have been so judgmental; I have no idea what you must be going through…"

Lucas nodded. "Apology accepted."

"What's going on in that handsome head of yours, Luke?" Peyton leaned back and took a sip of coffee.

Lucas sighed and looked out of the window. "I guess I'm not really sure. Everything was going great until we got into town. Then I saw Asher… and I just knew I needed him in my life. And Brooke… _god_. She's done an amazing job on him. I never imagined in a million years we'd have this perfect kid together…"

"Hold up," Peyton held her hand up. "I think that's where you're a little off track here. You didn't have a perfect kid _together_, Luke. _Brooke_ had a perfect kid. The whole idea was to give her the ability to have him. You weren't supposed to be in the picture. I know this isn't what you want to hear but it's the truth. No wonder Brooke is so freaked out and needing some space from you."

"Brooke is freaked out?" Lucas leaned forward concerned. "She seemed so fine with me wanting to get to know Asher…"

"Yeah, well, she's Brooke. She puts on this brave face and goes along with whatever everyone else wants to make them happy, regardless of what she feels. You should know that about her just as much as me. You're already pushing her too hard. I really think you should back off. Remember that she had this perfect life and then you came flying home and wanted to change all that."

"No wonder she hasn't answered any of my calls this morning," Lucas mumbled. "I'm such an idiot!"

"No you're not," Peyton placed her hand on top of his. "I just want to tell you that I'm sorry about everything that went down with us. I was so upset that you had given Brooke your sperm years before but still didn't want to have a baby with me. Then when you proposed, I knew it was only to try to salvage what we had left. And that wasn't fair to us. I need you to know that I know how badly I screwed up by saying no. If I could go back in time I would change it. I know that we can never have that back, but I'd like to think we could still be friends?" 

"Of course we can still be friends," Lucas smiled. "And it's okay- about before. I know how hard what I did for Brooke is to understand. It's a hard position for any woman I'm with to accept. I guess that's why I waited so long before I told Lindsey. I saw how much it started to destroy our relationship, and I didn't want that to happen again."

"You're just as screwed up as the rest of us," Peyton laughed, repeating the exact words Brooke had said last night. "Just take some friendly advice will ya? Back off of Brooke and Asher. This is a big deal you wanting to step in to be his dad, and it's putting a lot of pressure on her, even though she'll never say this to you. You need to work on yourself. Get yourself a place of your own and try to get your life put together a little more here."

"You're right," Lucas nodded. "I don't want to push Brooke away."

Peyton smiled and nodded. "On to better subjects! Tell me about this new book you're writing!"

..

Brooke yawned as she stretched out on the couch. It had been a long day, and Asher was not as excited about trying on shoes like she was. After half an hour she finally just gave up and bought a pair and didn't care if he didn't like the colors because he was being a pain. He had definitely been in a mood today.

She tried to keep her mind occupied from wandering to other thoughts, particularly thoughts including a blonde haired Scott. But as fate would have it, that's all she kept coming back to in her mind – Peyton's word echoing around in the midst.

The curly blonde had made some good points. Lucas Scott was known for changing his mind a lot, especially when it came to women. He wouldn't do that to Asher, right? She shook her head. No, she couldn't imagine him asking to be a dad and then backing out. He had seemed so sure of it – sure enough to end an engagement.

She went to the kitchen and grabbed two ibuprofens for her oncoming headache. She would make a point to call Lucas in the morning and discuss maybe coming over to spend some time with Asher after he got out of school. So far he had only been around when Jamie was with them also, and it would be good to see how Asher reacted with him alone. She swallowed the pills with water and put some of the remaining dinner dishes in the washing machine before she heard her cell vibrate.

She dried off her hands and walked over to see she had received a text message from BROODY. '_Hey Brooke. I know you are probably busy, just know I am going to back off and give you and Ash a little space. Maybe focus on buying that house and getting my life set up here. I'm here if you need me._'

That was what broke Brooke Davis for the second night in a row. Peyton was right, he didn't know what he wanted and she should have known he'd change his mind. The tears started to flow and she threw her phone as hard as she could across the room followed by a choked out sob. She didn't even hear the front door open, and didn't even acknowledge Peyton's arms wrap around her heaving body.

"Shhh, shhh," Peyton sat her down on the couch. "B. Davis, what's got you so upset?" She rocked her back and forth, smoothing out her dark brown hair.

"You were right," Brooke sniffled, "he changed his mind."

"Oh, Brooke," Peyton cooed. "He's not even worth your tears. It'll be okay, I'm here."

Brooke cried out into Peyton's shirt. Stupid Brooke. Always trying to see the best in people. "I'm so stupid."

"You are smart, and now you know better," Peyton mumbled into her hair before letting a small smile appear.

**A/N: I know you all hate me right now, but bare with me! I love hearing your thoughts! Keep the reviews coming!**


	9. Rat's Ass

Lucas had the biggest smile on his face the first time he used his new keys to open the door to the beach house. It had been nearly a week since he had spoken to Brooke or anyone, although he and Peyton had been hanging out quite a bit. It felt nice to have Peyton as a friend. She was going to help him paint a bad ass mural of Optimus Prime on one of the walls of the spare bedroom downstairs, so that maybe Asher would wanna stay the night some nights.

"Home sweet home," Lucas took a deep breath. He crossed his arms and nodded at his surroundings. "Perfect!" He had to get this place cleaned up today so that the movers could start moving in furniture tomorrow. He went back out to his Range Rover and grabbed his bag of cleaning supplies and got to work.

Two hours later when he was satisfied enough, he wiped some of the sweat off of his forehead and opened up the back door to let some air in. It was a beautiful windy day on the beach and he knew he'd want to live right here forever. He stepped outside on the patio and put his hands on the wooden railing as he breathed in the ocean. Hearing a noise to his left, he looked over to see Brooke drinking some coffee on her balcony. He smiled and waved brightly. She looked confused at first, and then pretty pissed off before she slammed the door retreating in the house. What had he done to deserve that?

He racked his brain but came up with nothing. All he had done was give her some space like she wanted…

..

"The nerve of that asshole!" Brooke ranted on the phone. "To sit there and smile and wave at me like nothing happened!"

"I'm going to have to talk to him," Haley sighed on the other end. "That just doesn't sound like Lucas. He was so gung-ho about Asher. And that was just on day one! It makes no sense for him to say he's giving you space, then just move in next door and act like that…"

"Yeah, well, Peyton was right! He's such a jerk! I mean yeah, he's a great guy to give me Asher, but he's not capable of being a dad. Hell he can't even manage to be a husband for crying out loud!" Brooke was pacing now in her kitchen.

"You don't mean that," Haley lightly scolded her choice of words.

"Yes I do!" Brooke fought back. "I wish he'd never come back to stupid Tree Hill!"

"Does this have to do with Asher…" Haley asked, "or is this because you wanted that dream family that is missing Lucas Scott?"

"What are you even talking about?" Brooke huffed. "There is no dream family that includes him! I have my perfect family. At least it was until he tried to screw that up! I should go over there and give him a piece of my mind!"

"Calm down!" Haley tried to reason with her. "Let me talk to him. If anyone can try to understand him it's me."

"Fine Hales, but keep him away from me," Brooke warned. "I'm not in the mood for his mind games anymore." She hung up still fired up and tried to calm down. She shouldn't let him get under her skin like that. Then he would be winning, and that's probably exactly what he wanted.

..

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Haley's voice boomed through his ear.

Luke pulled the phone away, trying to regain his hearing. "What?" he pulled the receiver back. "What did I do? Is everyone just in a pissy mood today?"

"You can't just jerk peoples' lives around Lucas!" Haley shouted.

"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Lucas shouted back. "If you would calm down and tell me what in the world I did to everyone today it'd be great!"

"You wanted to be a part of Asher and Brooke's life, then you change your mind and don't talk to them for days on end, and now you have the nerve to move next door to her and act all hunky dory!"

"Whoa whoa!" Lucas got angrier. "That is NOT how it went _at all_! Peyton **told** me I freaked Brooke out and that she needed some space! That's _all_ I was doing! I didn't want to push too hard and lose my chance at something as serious as the two of them! I don't know where you're getting your information from but your sources are wrong. You know me better than that!"

"Wait…" Haley's voice dropped, as if she was working a problem out in her head. "_Peyton_ told you she wanted space?"

"Yeah," Lucas answered as if it wasn't of any importance right now. "Who's telling you this stuff Hales? It's second hand information and it's not right. Brooke thinks this as well? Is that why she looked so angry at me earlier?"

"Yeah, but Luke, Peyton also told Brooke some stuff about you…"

"What are you getting at?"

"Peyton! She's giving you both false information! From what I understand she's all Team Brooke and anti-Lucas!"

"That's impossible, we've been hanging out all week, she's been extremely nice and helpful…" He cut off his sentence as he started to work stuff out. "Oh no… no, no, no."

"I don't think she's over you…" Haley groaned.

"I've got to fix this," Lucas said in a hurry. "Thanks Hales, bye!"

That was the second time that day Haley had been hung up on.

..

Brooke jumped two feet in the air when someone started to bang loudly on her front door.

"Brooke Penelope Davis!" Lucas' voice radiated through the thick wood. "Open this door right now I know you're home!"

"What do you want?" Brooke shouted on the other side of the door.

"I need to talk to you!" Lucas pleaded. "Please it's important!"

Brooke swung the door open forcefully and her eyes were shooting daggers at him. "Oh did you change your mind again? Well go ahead lets hear this great speech so you can take it back tomorrow!"

She walked away leaving the door wide open and Lucas was quick on her heel.

"Brooke! Brooke! Stop!" He finally grabbed her by the arm and she swung around and jerked her arm out of his hand.

"Don't you dare touch me you jerk!"

"You've got it all wrong!"

"What do I have wrong, Luke? Please enlighten me! You decided what? You wanted a family, played house with me for a day and then decide it's not actually what you wanted? Save it! What if we had told Asher? He would be crushed right now! You're such an asshole!" She punched him in the chest as hard as she could.

"Ow!" Lucas cried out, holding a hand to his chest. "Would you please just shut up and listen to me?!"

"I don't want to listen to your lies anymore Lucas Scott! All you do is break hearts and you're not getting near mine again and I'll be damned if you get close to Asher's!"

"Peyton has been lying to us!" Lucas shouted louder over her.

Silence came over both of them for a moment, Brooke trying to figure out what he meant, and Lucas heaving from the punch.

"What do you mean?" she asked quieter.

His back touched the wall and he slid down to the floor. "She's been lying Brooke. She told me I freaked you out and that you wanted some space. I only did what I thought you wanted. I didn't want to push you or Asher away. God knows what she's said about me, but from what Haley relayed it probably wasn't good either. Brooke, I want to be apart of yours and Asher's lives more than I can tell you. But I'll do anything to make sure I do it right and I don't overstep your wishes."

Brooke took a step back in shock and sat down at the dining room table. "Peyton… she wouldn't…" she mumbled.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lucas threw his hands in the air. "She's just playing us to put a wedge between us so she can slide in. And it's been working."

"Some of what she said… it's true…" Brooke fiddled with her fingernails. "You can never make up your mind with women. You're always hopping around as soon as one walks out on you."

"Maybe that is true," Lucas himself had figured that out over the past few weeks of self-evaluation. "But that's because they aren't the right one. And I would never walk out on Asher! But damn I haven't even gotten the chance to _try_, Brooke."

Brooke's heart shattered a little bit more when Lucas started to cry. She always knew it was serious when a grown man cried. She got off the chair and sat next to him, letting her small hands rest on his crossed forearms. "I'm sorry."

Lucas chuckled through the tears. "What are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong."

"I don't know," Brooke smiled softly and shrugged. "But I am. We should have communicated better."

"I could feel you pulling away a little before Peyton even started all this," Lucas let her know he could still read her. "I broke your heart, Brooke, but that was so long ago. I just need you to let me in, even just the littlest bit. Just enough that I can prove to you how good I can be. I am the king of fucking things up, but I won't screw this up. This is too important to me. Asher is too important. **You** are too important."

Brooke nodded slowly and they held eye contact for what seemed like an eternity, when in reality it was a mere few seconds. "I give a rat's ass about you," she rasped out, trying to hold back her own tears.

"I give a rat's ass about you too."

**A/N: Okay I am done updating for the night! Hope I didn't disappoint! PLEASE review, let me know what you think or even what you'd like to happen in the story! I take every word into consideration. Hope you are enjoying this as much as I am writing it!**


	10. Pinky and the Brain

"How do you wanna handle this?" Lucas sat with his hands wrapped around the coffee mug.

"Well personally, I think I am going to punch that bitch," Brooke replied, as serious as a heart attack. "I should have known something was up – for her to just up and visit after almost a year right after you get into town." She snorted and shook her head at her own stupidity.

"_I_ didn't even figure it out," Lucas added, "and I've been around her all week. No physical altercations, please, I already know how much you can pack in a punch." He gestured to his chest and Brooke winced slightly.

"Sorry for that," she apologized meekly.

"It's okay," Lucas laughed. "At least I know you've still got that feistiness intact." He rubbed at the spot a little more, almost pouting when she glanced away.

"I really don't know what to do. Shouldn't we just confront her head on? Beat the shit out of her and send her on her merry little way?" Brooke suggested. Sounded plausible.

"No," Luke shook his head. "She's playing mind games. I say we play them back."

"How are we gunna do that?" Brooke asked confused. "I left my conniving days back at Tree Hill High." _Sort of_.

"This whole ordeal was to try and get me back, right?" Lucas leaned forward as Brooke nodded. "So let's let her think it's working."

"Again," Brooke rolled her eyes, "how?"

"Let's just play along today. See how far she's really willing to go."

"Okay," Brooke nodded, rolling the idea around mentally. "Asher doesn't get out of school until three fifteen." She looked at her watch. "That gives us about four hours."

"She's supposed to come by my place in half an hour to help me paint Asher's room," Lucas informed the brunette.

"You're having Asher a room set up?" Brooke asked in shock.

"Well, yeah…" he shrugged bashfully. "I told you, I'm serious about this. I'll do anything to do things right."

Brooke smiled and she had an indescribable feeling in the pit of her stomach. She pushed it away and took a sip of her coffee. "We're like Pinky and the Brain!"

They both laughed at the idea. "I better get over there," Lucas checked his watch and stood up.

Brooke followed him to the front door and they lingered there for a moment.

"Just play along," he told her. "I'm tired of people fucking with our lives. It's time we played back a little. We're ending this today." His voice was so stern and full of authority that it sent shivers up Brooke's spine. "And we're talking to Asher **tonight**."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded before softly shutting the door. Once she heard him go down the steps she fell back against the door. "Lucas Scott you can take charge _anytime_ you want," she squealed. God was he sexy when he talked like that! She shook her head and tried to clear it. It was time to put her game face on. That fucking backstabbing fake blonde was going to try to take away her ex who she _totally_ did not have feelings for? Like hell! Brooke Davis wasn't going down without a fight!

..

"Knock knock!" Peyton's cheerful voice bounced off the empty walls of the house.

"Hey Peyt!" Lucas greeted with a big smile! "Just in time, I just got the paint brought inside!"

"Awesome! Can't wait to get started!" she smiled brightly.

"I didn't know how much paint you needed of each color, so I got extra of everything," Lucas explained. "I want Optimus Prime to take up almost all of this wall." He spanned his hands out to show her the picture he had in his head of placement.

"It'll probably take me a few hours, but I guess I can do it for you," she nudged him and winked.

"Thanks Peyt… you have no idea how much of a help you've been these past few days. You were right about giving Brooke space. I need to focus on my own life." He touched her arm and gave it a light squeeze.

"No problem," she was eating it up. "What are friends for?"

"You're definitely the best," Lucas complimented her as he started.

Peyton was absolutely giddy inside. She knelt down and started to separate her colors and brushes the way she wanted them.

Two hours later, when Peyton was done, the duo stood back and admired the work from the doorway. "Holy shit," Lucas muttered, "that is amazing!"

"Why thank you Mr. Scott," Peyton bowed. "Asher is going to love it!"

"I know, I can't wait for him to see it! I'm glad it will be dry before the movers come tomorrow." Lucas was definitely excited about the mural, and he was glad they got it done before shit hit the fan.

Peyton looked at her phone and frowned for a split second before smiling. "Brooke texted me, she wants me to come over."

Lucas felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as well. "I got the same text," he showed her the text message.

Peyton looked a little pale. "You alright?" Lucas put his arm on the small of her back.

"Yeah, yeah," Peyton leaned onto him a bit. "I wonder what she wants both of us over there for."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I haven't spoken to her in days. Maybe she's finally ready!"

Peyton's heart was pounding a million miles per second. "We can only hope!" she smiled nervously. "I don't think I remember telling her I was coming over."

"Why would Brooke mind?" Lucas asked as if she was silly. "Besides, she's next door, I'm sure she's seen your car."

"I just don't want her to think anything bad," Peyton explained quickly. "Both of us over here alone, it probably doesn't look good because of our past."

"Don't be silly," Lucas patted her shoulder. "C'mon, lets go see what's up." He grabbed her hand, and while she was gleeful inside at the gesture, for some reason she was very nervous about what Brooke wanted.

"There you two are!" Brooke smiled brightly, opening the front door widely. _Bitch_. She smiled even brighter at Peyton.

"What's up?" Luke asked as he followed the traitor in.

"Could you two just sit?" Brooke motioned them to the couch. "I need to talk to you both."

"Suuuure," Lucas dragged the word out sounding uneasy.

At this point Peyton hadn't said a word.

Brooke paced in front of them. "I've been doing a lot of thinking," she started off. "Luke, I think we should get married. I mean you're single, I'm single, hell, we've already popped out one kid, why not a few more? I mean we aren't getting any younger."

"I'm sorry, Brooke I…" he choked, "I'm in love with someone else…" He looked longingly over at Peyton and the blonde looked as if she was about to combust.

"You're in love with Peyton?!" Brooke shouted.

Peyton looked back and forth between the two rapidly. "Luke… do you mean that? Are you in love with me?" Her heart was in her throat at this point.

"Peyton, I…" he touched her knee and looked deeply into her eyes before busting out into laughter. "I'm sorry, I can't go on with this any longer," he breathed out between the laughs. "Her face… too much!"

Brooke started to laugh as soon as Lucas gave up and burst into hysterics as Peyton's face showed pure confusion.

"What's going on?" Peyton sat up a little straighter.

"You _seriously_ thought we wouldn't figure it out? That bleach is getting to your brain." Brooke fell back onto the chair as her laughter started to die down.

At her feigned confusion on the topic, Lucas decided to speak up when he could finally catch his breath. "You lied to both of us, thinking you could play us against each other, and for what? To get **me** back, of all things? That shipped sailed a long time ago."

"I don't…" Peyton started to deny but Brooke nipped it in the bud quickly.

"Cut the shit," Brooke's voice became serious. "While seeing your face was probably the most priceless thing on earth, we can't trust you anymore. I can't believe I didn't see through your little act as soon as you got out of that car. There's a reason we aren't in contact much anymore. You showing up here out of the blue and pretending to _care_? All you did was cause me heart ache and keep a little boy's father away for a few more days. You are a selfish fucking bitch and I want you out of my house, preferably out of Tree Hill, because I swear to god if I ever see your face I'm probably going to knock the shit out of you. Oh, and while you were trying to get into Luke's here pants, I did you the favor of calling your boyfriend for you. He sounded pretty pissed."

Peyton was white as a ghost before her face started to redden. They could tell she wanted to say _something_, but it was if no words could form from her mouth. She stood up in silence and headed straight for the door.

Brooke and Lucas stood to walk her out and as she was halfway down the steps Brooke called out to her, causing her to turn around with a hopeful look.

A wicked smile emerged on Brooke's perfectly lined red lips before grabbing Luke by the collar of his shirt and pulling him into the most mind blowing kiss of his life.

The only thing they heard was Peyton letting out screams of anger and frustration as she slammed her car door shut with a _BOOM!_ And drove off.

"That was, um… wow…" Lucas breathed, watching as Brooke let go and skirted towards the kitchen.

Brooke was flustered, but didn't let it show. Sure the kiss was better than she remembered, but it was in the heat of the moment, being a conniving bitch and all. He was still standing in the same spot, glued by the door when she returned to his side. "Lets go get our boy," was all she said as she headed towards her car, Lucas following close behind.

"Are we gunna talk about what just happened?" Lucas pointed towards the now closed front door still flabbergasted.

"Just shut up and get in," Brooke laughed and climbed in the driver's side.

Lucas was at a loss for words, and his whole world just got completely flipped. Did this mean he had a shot? He hopped in quickly before the gorgeous brunette decided to change her mind. "What are gunna do tonight?" he asked as she pulled out of the driveway.

"The same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world."


End file.
